Turbomachines are widely utilized in fields such as power generation. For example, a conventional gas turbine system includes a compressor section, a combustor section, and at least one turbine section. The compressor section is configured to compress air as the air flows through the compressor section. The air is then flowed from the compressor section to the combustor section, where it is mixed with fuel and combusted, generating a hot gas flow. The hot gas flow is provided to the turbine section, which utilizes the hot gas flow by extracting energy from it to power the compressor, an electrical generator, and other various loads.
The combustor section of a turbomachine generally includes a combustor assembly, which includes a plurality of combustors disposed in an annular array. Each combustor is connected to and positioned within a compressor discharge casing (“CDC”). Additionally, cross-fire tubes extend transversely between the combustors. Accordingly, during startup, ignition of each individual combustor is not required. Rather, ignited flames from one or more combustor may flow through cross-fire tubes to neighboring combustors to ignite these combustors.
In previously known combustor assemblies, the cross-fire tubes were located outside of a plenum generally defined by the CDC and turbine casing. More recently, however, the cross-fire tubes have been moved downstream along the combustors into the plenum. This design change provides various advantages during start-up and operation of combustor assembly. However, the design change also introduces challenges during, for example, combustor assembly maintenance. For example, to remove a combustor from the combustor assembly, the cross-fire tubes associated with that combustor must first be removed from the combustor so that they no longer extend past the shells defining the combustor into the interior of the combustor. The combustor can then be removed from the CDC. However, in cases wherein the cross-fire tubes are in the plenum, access to the cross-fire tubes is limited or unavailable. Accordingly, presently known approaches to removing these combustors are time-consuming and burdensome.
Accordingly, improved methods and apparatus for manipulating cross-fire tubes in combustor assemblies are desired. In particular, methods and apparatus that facilitate easy and efficient manipulation of cross-fire tubes relative to the associated combustors would be advantageous.